AREA — A popular conservative radio talk-show host who has announced his intentions to run for the state’s highest office will be allowed to hold onto his morning timeslot — for now.
On Friday, the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) announced that Bill Spadea, an outspoken pro-Trump Republican who broadcasts a daily four-hour talk radio show on NJ 101.5 FM (a subsidiary of Townsquare Media) can stay on the air as long as he agrees not to turn his morning timeslot into a platform for his gubernatorial campaign.
Two of Mr. Spadea’s most likely rivals in the 2025 Republican Primary — Senator Jon Bramnick and former assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli — argued ahead of Friday’s ELEC hearing that Mr. Spadea’s agreement with Townsquare Media could constitute a violation of the state’s $5,800 limit on in-kind contributions.
“Townsquare Media continues to pay Mr. Spadea his full salary while simultaneously allowing him to engage in campaign activities during work hours,” William Burns, an attorney for Sen. Bramnick, wrote in a letter to the ELEC on June 24. “As Mr. Spadea’s political messages and commentary reach daily NJ 101.5’s extensive audience, which likely includes a significant number of registered voters in New Jersey, his salary should be viewed as part of the overall in-kind contribution limit, along with the value of the airtime itself.”
Mr. Burns pointed to specific examples of what he called “numerous issues directly related to public policy and political party politics,” including spending priorities and intra-party disagreements that have been discussed on Mr. Spadea’s talk show since he first announced his intention to run for governor early last month.
“Clearly, New Jersey Republican Party dynamics and party reform will be significant topics of Mr. Spadea’s Republican Primary campaign for governor of New Jersey,” Mr. Burns wrote.
Attorneys for Mr. Spadea, meanwhile, argued that ELEC’s decision to intervene with an Order To Show Cause was “hasty” and violated the longtime host’s constitutional right to free speech.
“The Commission’s statutory authority and mission is to limit political contributions and require the reporting of contributions received and expenditures made to aid or promote the nomination, election or defeat of any candidate for public office. Importantly, that authority and mission does not include prospectively restricting speech that might potentially become a campaign contribution,” Mr. Spadea’s attorneys said via written communication to the Commission last week. “Even if the Commission determined the Radio Show created some amorphous ‘collateral benefits’ to Spadea for Governor, this would be insufficient to make a determination that the show was an expenditure.”
After several hours of testimony last week, ELEC Chair Thomas Prol announced that the commission — a watchdog agency comprised of two Republican representatives and two Democrats — would be “vigorously monitoring” Mr. Spadea’s campaign over the course of the coming months.
Mr. Prol added that ELEC will act if it receives a “bona fide complaint from the public” and will “hold the candidate and campaign accountable” if it determines that there has been any type of violation going forward.
Representatives from Townsquare Media announced last month that Mr. Spadea’s contract would remain in effect until such time as he becomes a “legally qualified candidate.” Legal representatives for the company said Friday that Mr. Spadea will reach that benchmark when he files his nominating petition for next year’s Primary in late March or early April.
101.5 also has begun airing a frequent disclaimer about Mr. Spadea’s show to remind listeners that it does not endorse campaigns run by its onair personalities and has instituted a 13-second delay to block any content related to the campaign.
On Friday, however, Mr. Prol called the media company’s attempts to mitigate the situation “insufficient” and added that the members of ELEC have been “troubled by reports of expressed and explicit communications.”
Though still months away, next year’s Primary races, meanwhile, are already heating up. Mr. Spadea, Sen. Bramnick and Mr. Ciattarelli are among five declared candidates on the Republican side of the governor’s race, along with real estate broker Robert Canfield and former state Sen. Ed Durr.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller, and former state Senate President Stephen Sweeney, meanwhile, have announced their intentions to seek out the Democratic nomination to follow in the footsteps of the state’s current term-limited Governor Phil Murphy. Other candidates from both sides of the aisle are expected to emerge over the coming months.
